The BabyLit series is any literature-lover's dream come true. Whether you have children of your own, or nephews, nieces, godchildren, or friends, this is such a cute way to introduce babies and toddlers to some of your favorite classic books. While I think some entries in the series are better than others, one of my favorites so far is Jabberwocky. Probably that is partly because it includes large portions of Lewis Carroll's original poem, with such recognizable phrases as "the frumious bandersnatch," and "O frabjous day, callooh callay!"

Of course, this book has managed to omit any references to "vorpal swords" or slaying. Which does make the last bit somewhat choppy. But this is still a fun "nonsense primer," with cute, colorful images of nonsense creatures and a sweet final image of a father and son.

Scrounged From: Amazon (a Christmas present for our kids)

Format: Board book
Author: Jennifer Adams
Illustrator: Alison Oliver
Pages: 22
Content Advisory: None

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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is the first Roald Dahl book that I've ever read. I'm ashamed to say I made it to adulthood before I even realized that his first name wasn't actually "Ronald." But it's better late than never, isn't it?

I'll also admit that, having seen Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory as a child, it is difficult to mentally separate this story from Gene Wilder's magical portrayal of Wonka (I've heard some say that Depp was closer to the book, personality-wise, but I didn't see that version).

All the same, the song "Pure Imagination" captures this story quite aptly. What child has not fantasized about everlasting candy? This made "the chocolate room" all the more magical to me, as I absolutely used to fantasize about a natural world in which everything was made of different kinds of sweets. That as well as the boat on the chocolate river, and the great glass elevator, were the most memorable parts for me.

One aspect that I found interesting was the different treatment of Charlie in the movie vs. the book. In this book, Charlie is completely good and his fellow golden-ticket-holders are completely bad. There is no question of who the hero is because it's spelled out clearly from the beginning. Whereas, the movie apparently attempted to humanize Charlie by having him do a bad thing too.

I think that's why one thing that struck me about the book was how moralizing it came across, even underneath all the absurdity (at times reminding me of Hilaire Belloc's "cautionary" tales, minus the death of course). I have no problem with "good vs. evil" narratives; I suppose this just stands out more because I've become used to narratives that are more likely to portray complex heroes and villains. But I think the fantasy elements of the story made the fairly one-dimensional characters less problematic. 

On another note, I am certain that J.K. Rowling must have been influenced by this story. Not only is there a "Slugworth" (minor character) here, but some of the goofier candy inventions remind me quite a bit of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

Scrounged From: PaperbackSwap.com

Format: Paperback
Author: Roald Dahl
Illustrator: Quentin Blake
Pages: 155
Content Advisory: Some perilous and sad situations.

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Food is a relatable topic that we often encounter in picture books -- sometimes it's viewed practically, other times in a silly way, or both. There are plenty more that could be included here, but these are some of our favorites:

Pancakes Pancakes! is an Eric Carle book I didn't encounter until I was an adult, but I enjoyed it and the kids did too. It takes a fairly "practical" look at how pancakes are made. If you can suspend enough disbelief to allow that a boy named Jack and his mother just happened to be out of every single pancake ingredient, then it makes sense that before he can have pancakes for breakfast, Jack must take wheat to the mill to be ground into flour, milk the cow, churn some butter, fetch an egg, etc. Once he collects everything, his mother walks him through the process of combining the ingredients and cooking his first pancake. It usually succeeds in making me feel hungry by the end!

I'll admit, Green Eggs and Ham is not one of my favorite Dr. Seuss books, but it's a classic, and I'm pretty sure all the kids I've read it to have enjoyed it. Perhaps the repetition has gotten to me over the years. But I can appreciate that it encourages kids to try something before outrightly declaring that they do not like it. Either that or it encourages pestering someone to the point of insanity if they won't do what you want them to do -- decide for yourself.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, by Judi Barrett and Ronald Barrett, is one of my favorite "tall tale" picture books ever. It's the legend of a town called Chewandswallow, where food falls from the sky. This allows for endless possibilities of weird weather, and also some interesting problems and other effects that would go along with this kind of phenomenon. Eventually, the food-weather gets weirder and larger, making life unsustainable for the brave inhabitants, and they are forced to flee. This is the best kind of picture book because the general idea can spur your creativity long after reading it -- what other kinds of food can we imagine falling from the sky? And what kinds of possibilities and problems would that lead to?

The Seven Silly Eaters is a clever story written in polished rhyme by Mary Ann Hoberman, which tells the story of a growing family of picky eaters -- each child has one particular food that they have to eat in a certain way in order to be happy. Fortunately, it's silly enough that it's easy to overlook real-world consequences of such things and to enjoy the way that the family and story both grow -- until finally, when their long-suffering mother is worn to the bone, the children accidentally invent a dish that makes life a whole lot easier for all of them. Full review here.

How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World takes a similar approach to Pancakes Pancakes! above, in the sense that all ingredients for the dish in question must be acquired from their sources, but this time it's done in a much more fantastical way. This book is written from a second-person point of view, which is fairly rare (the only other in this style that comes to mind at the moment is How to Dig a Hole to the Other Side of the World which is more educational but a bit fantastical too). In this book, you are instructed to go to the market to get ingredients for your pie, but if the market is closed, then you must jet off to Sri Lanka (to get cinnamon from the bark of a kurundu tree), England, Italy, Vermont, etc. to find only the best ingredients to make into an apple pie. It's a fun read, and at the very end there is a recipe to make your own apple pie.

You Belong Here is a beautiful, well-written poem that affirms a child's sense of "belonging" with their parent(s). The text compares the way that different kinds of animals belong in their unique environments with "you" belonging here with "me." The last verse emphasizes that even though the child may travel and see the world, that won't stop them from belonging. (Even though this is assumed to be written from a parent-to-child perspective, the pronouns are vague enough that it could be applied to other situations too.)

The illustrations are so beautiful, using a lot of earth tones to set up lovely contrasts and depictions of the natural world. In fact, I really can't think of anything that could make this book better. It would make a great gift for any young child, and especially children who are adopted or in mixed families. 

Scrounged From: Amazon (a present for our three-year-old)

Format: Hardcover
Author: M.H. Clark
Illustrator: Isabelle Arsenault
Pages: 32
Content Advisory: None

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Florence & Leon is an unusual picture book in that it is pretty much a quirky romance story (not something I often see in picture books, but perhaps it's more common in French ones, as this was originally published in French), and while it's written at a level that children can understand, I imagine it would appeal more to teens and adults, though I could be wrong. 

I do like the visual of the straws that each person uses to describe their particular physical difficulty, and the connection they make because of it. That's an aspect that older children might be able to appreciate, especially with a common object being used as an illustration. 

Perhaps it's cheesy in places, and it won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I thought it was cute.

(Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.)

Scrounged From: NetGalley

Format: Kindle
Author: Simon Boulerice
Illustrator: Delphie Côté-Lacroix
Pages: 32
Content Advisory: None

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